Road marker



Jan. 2, 1940. c. M. WHlT E, JR 2,185,488

ROAD MARKER Filed Nov. 12, 1938 Patented Jan. 2, 1940 I I t ROAD MARKER Charles M. White, J12, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The Colonial Insulator Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 12,1938, Serial No.- 240,031

3 Claims. (01. 94-1.5)

This invention relates to markers for indiber tires and is washable through t e gravity eating traffic lanes, safety zones, etc., on street tion of rain on the domed surface. and roadway pavements. My principal object For a light-colored exposed surface other than is to provide an improved marker securely mountpure W Such as yellOW, the Coloring P me 5 able on or in the pavement and sharply visible, may be c p at d in the glaze lay a by color contrast with the surrounding pavement, also, if desired, alternatively, in the y in the daytime as well as by artificial light. medietely u derlying said layer. The re y Further objects are to provide an im r d high inherent visibility is conferred'by reflection vice of that character, incorporating one or more and diffusion, from the particles of h p q reflector buttons for better visibility at night, and body material and t p if y, f s a mode of positioning and mounting one or more Substantially l Of e y Of light fall reflectors in the marker body in such manner as upon e S ace of the marker. to reduce its height of projection above the pave- While Various plan pes C u d be used, a m m 1 1 iti purposes in View are t circular shape, as illustrated, is preferred as one provide such a, combination of hape, smooth- Of the easiest to make and embed in the paven s d durability f th marker top as 111 ment. The lower body is belted with an annular cause it to shed dirt and permanently retain o ve 5 for interlocking With e embedd high light-reflecting and difiusing characteristics. material, st Vertical splaceme t. The This application is a continuation in part of base is formed with segmental p j io my prior application 220 4 3 filed July separated by recesses ll, to interlock with the em- 20 21 1938, bedding material against rotative movement.

Of t accompanying drawing, The base is'further formed with a downwardly- Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal section of a Open, upwardly-tapering rece s E8 to save maroad or street pavement having embedded thereteriel and DTOmOlie uniform Shrinkage during 25 in amarker, shown partly in section, embodymanufacture. It will be understood that the 25 ing my invention in a preferred form. lower body contour is subject to variation. The Fig. 2 is a plan View of the marker, partly Slightly ed, m lded Surface !9 of broke away nd i ti 1 the marker body below the lower line 53 of the Fig. 3 is an edge view, partly in section, lookglaze, indicated y a light pp r id res beting endwi at one of t refleeeer b tt ter than would a smooth surface to the immediate 30 Fig. isa perspective view showing a modifiembedding materiel Sueh as S p r, ar 01 ation, other suitable cement which is poured in a mol- Referring t first be Figs, 1 t 3 m indicates ten condition around the marker, in a hole Ze generally the pavement marker including a monoformed in h pavement 2 to t en harden and lithic body H of opaque ceramic material whose act as a ret iner and cushion for the device. 35 exposed upper surface is of light color such as Such a rough-faced joint also makes an efficient white, yellow or other color which will reflect and See]. against t e penetration of water. diffuse from about 60 per cent to'substantially For a day'and'mght ma a P lens 100 per cent of the light falling upon it The reflector buttons 2| of familiar construction, pro- 40 preferred material of this body, at least of its Y h the glsual g g i g? a 40 upper portion, is porcelain, molded from a suitgfi f i ggig gf g g i ifi jg i 1 h z g g i g i. fi E open recesses 24 in the dome of saidbody. Each g W 10 d ip 'g recess has a floor 25 extending outwardly tothe a We 8 pa Jemen 1s com/ex or 01116 1 e periphery of the body ll, substantially in the base 5 and relatively shallow, to serve as a conspicuous plane of the dome, at the pavement level and marker, to house the reflector buttons when the Slightly flaring sides The two reflectors g latter are used, to help. shed dirt and provide are oppositely directed, 1 t 11 f t a slightly bumpy surface for warning the vehicle madway t reflect th headlamp rayg of meter driver. The whole of this dome-like portion and vehicles approaching from. either direction, for 50 the upp rim of the su i'a t embedded p guiding the driver at night on a dark roadway, tion down to the line 13 is coated with a thin and their optical axes 2'! aredirected slantingly layer M of vitreous glaze to which, by reason of upward at an acute angle, which may be of the its smoothness, dirt will not easily cling, which order of20 degrees from the plane of the paveis more or less self-cleaning by the action of rubmerit. The end faces 28 of the recesses 24 in 55 which the reflectors are mounted are slanted at a complemental angle. The bottom of each recess is further formed with a slight depression 29 under and outwardly of the lower edge of the button 2|, for rece ving said lower edge below the general floor level. The combination of these features permits a reduction in the height of projection of the dome above the road surface, while admitting headlamp rays to and from the reflector through its full aperture, from a safe driving distance between the vehicle and the marker, and still leaves sufiicient material between the dome crest and the apertures 23 to avoid cracking of the porcelain by trafiic blows. With a reflector button of inch head diameter, the dome height may be inch, or substantially 15 per cent of the greatest diameter of the marker, which may be of the order of 3% inches. While subject to some variation, the approximate dimensions given in this example afford a desirable combination of qualities including ample lightreflecting surface, dirt-shedding properties and sufficient bumping or shocking capacity to encourage keeping within a lane boundary without injuring or dangerously swerving the wheel tires when the marker is encountered.

The requirements for a practical and com mercially acceptable luminous road marker of the type which is disclosed in the description just given are numerous. The absence of any of the features which are enumerated makes an inferior article. In the form shown all of the requirements are supplied in a single combination set forth in the claims.

The marker must not work loose in the pavement under the excessive vibration to which the road is subjected by the passage of trucks or other heavy vehicles. The marker shown herein is securely interlocked with the pavement and prevented from rising by the groove l 6 in its base into which the embedding material will flow and set thus insuring a firm anchorage. This property is enhanced by the fact that the glaze on the top is omitted from the base to leave the embedded area of the marker body with a rough A marker of the luminous type must not be,

capable ofrotation in its seat otherwise, if looseness develops the marker will turn so that the luminous reflectors are not presented to the rays of light from approaching headlights and the effectiveness of the marker after dark would be lost.

The marker must be visible during the day and should not accumulate dirt or oil so that it will blend with the surrounding pavement. This requirement is met by the glazed surface on the top or dome of the marker which will shed dirt, oil or other foreign matter. The porcelain glaze will not corrode or roughen, and the passage of tires over this glazed surface will scour any adhering matter therefrom.

The marker must offer the least possible protuberance from the surface of the pavement and must not present any abrupt obstruction. This is a safety feature which is very important as an abrupt formation in the pavement will be objectionable and dangerous. A fast moving automobile upon striking an abrupt surface rising from the pavement may be swerved from its course, and this is particularly true when the pavement is wet or carries a film of oil. The marker shown here supplies that requirement by the fact that the p or dome is low and rounded uniformly over its entire surface so that a wheel approaching from any angle will not tend to be deflected and the bump will be largely dissipated or absorbed by the tire.

The marker must resist any effort to dislodge it from the pavement by the passage of scrapers or snow ploughs. This is one of the principal objections to the markers shown in the prior art in which projections or steep walls presented in any direction will afford points of engagement by a scraper or snow plough. In markers in which the underside of the head or dome rests upon the top of the pavement, unevenness in the pavement, or sinking of the pavement around the marker will expose the edge of the head and afford points under which the blade of a scraper or snow plough will take hold and pull the marker out of its seat or break the head. Reflectors or the like which project above the surface of the marker also make it vulnerable to such an attack. In the marker shown here this very serious fault is overcome by the fact that the reflectors are set into pockets so that they are completely belowand debris which will cover the reflectors, and this is particularly true when the markers are set in a grade in the road, for rain will wash down dirt or mud which will collect in the pockets. This objection'is overcome by the design of the pockets or recesses and the location of the reflectors therein. It will be noted that each pocket or recess flares outwardly and that the reflector is set out from the rear wall and not embedded therein. The glaze on the top of the marker is extended into the pocket and the base or bottom 1 of the pocket is also a part of the body and carries the same coating of glaze. As a result the passage of tires over the surface'of the marker will automatically remove any dirt which may become lodged in the pockets by the suction and wiping action caused by the tread of the; tire, an effect which is enhanced by the presence of the glaze on the walls and bottom of the pocket.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the material and shape of the body I l and application of a glazing layer I 4 over its domed top, down only to a line such as iii a short distance below the rim, are the same as before, but the top is plain, reflector buttons and their recesses and mountings being omitted, and the cost of manufacture is less. The domed top may then be somewhat shallower than previously described, while retaining its. dirt-shedding and tire-bumping functions by reason of the convexity. These plain markers are useful in many situations where headlight reflection is not required except as conferred by the light-colored porcelain surface, they are sharply distinguishable at long distances in the daytime and sufliciently so by moonlight or artificial light to substantially promote safe driving.

The use of either form of this invention reduces the expense of maintaining traffic lane and safety zone markings by avoiding the necessity of using painted stripes.

When the term substantially cylindrical is used in the claims I intend to cover primarily a cylindrical block, but it is not intended to exclude from the scope the claims variations from a true cylinder.

The described forms of embodiment may be varied without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A pavement marker comprising a monolithic substantially cylindrical ceramic body adapted to lie below the surface of the pavement with its upper edge flush therewith and havin an upper surface formed as a shallow rounded dome-like top rising above the pavement, the marker being provided with formations adapted to interlock with the pavement body and prevent upward and rotational movement of the marker in the pavement, a recess formed in. the dome and having outwardly flaring side walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall, a luminous reflector set in the rear wall of said recess and lying below the surface of the rounded dome, and a coating of glaze over the top and extending into the recess and over all of the walls thereof.

2. A pavement marker comprising a monolithic substantially cylindrical body adapted to lie below the surface of the pavement with its upper edge flush therewith and having an upper surface formed as a shallow rounded dome-like top rising above the pavement, the marker being provided with formations adapted to interlock with the pavement body and prevent upward and rotational movement of the marker in the pavement, a recess formed in the dome and having outwardly flaring side walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall, a luminous reflector set in the rear wall of said recess and lying below the surface of the rounded dome, and a smooth reflecting surface over the top and extending into the recess and over all of the walls thereof.

3. A pavement marker comprising a monolithic substantially cylindrical ceramic body adapted to lie below the surface of the pavement with its upper edge flush therewith and having an upper surface formed as a shallow dome-like top rising above the pavement, the marker being provided with formations adapted to interlock with the pavement body and prevent upward and rotational movement of the marker in the pavement, a recess formed in the dome and having 4 outwardly flaring side walls, a rear wall and a oottom wall, a luminous reflector set in the rear wall of said recess and lying below the surface of the rounded dome, and a coating of glaze over the dome and extending into the recess and over all of the walls thereof, the glaze terminating near the top of the marker to provide an unglazed body beneath the surface of pavement.

CHARLES M. WHITE, JR. 

